


Agent Rossi and the Women

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-01
Updated: 2011-11-01
Packaged: 2017-10-25 15:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/271645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since the Christmas party, a cease fire had been declared.  A tentative peace accord was brokered between all parties involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Agent Rossi and the Women

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my friend Marta, who always has my back no matter what life has to throw at me...or what ship I wanna throw at her.

They walked out of Colette, the trendy Old Town Alexandria boutique, into the late May sunshine. Dave took the bag out of Erin’s grasp and replaced it with his hand.

“You're man enough to carry my shopping bags?” she asked smiling.

“Damn skippy, baby.” Dave nodded.

It was a gorgeous day and he was glad to spend it outside. It was officially summertime and it was time to celebrate. Dave promised Erin the three-day weekend and barring major crisis he would give it to her. He was dedicated to his job, he was dedicated to his books, but this weekend his woman came first.

The sky was a bright blue with hardly a cloud to be seen. They were both dressed for an afternoon out. Dave wore khakis with a button down blue shirt. Erin called it his mafia vacation look. He topped it off with a pair of $525 leather ‘summer shoes’ on his feet. That’s how they were described in the Bruno Magli brochure, summer shoes.

Erin was comfortable in light blue linen cropped pants and a crisp white v-neck shirt. The white flats she wore were perfect for a day of walking and perusing. She could hardly wipe the smile off her face. Erin was excited for this time with him. Even though they lived together, and worked in the same building most days, their respective jobs kept them busy lately. They promised to make time but always seemed to come up short.

This weekend neither wanted to take no for an answer. FBI cell phones were turned off. If it were a true emergency the people who needed it had their personal cells. And they wouldn’t call under threat of imminent physical harm. The next 60 hours was all about the two of them, and nothing but.

“What's next?” Erin asked, holding his hand tighter.

“I'm thinking lunch is a good idea. I haven’t tried Monterey Café yet.”

“Neither have I. I wanted to bring Ted the last time he was home but he was out with friends most of the time.”

“That’s just my luck.” Dave smiled, leaning to kiss her cheek. “You want to have lunch?”

“Mmm hmm.” Erin nodded. “You'll need your strength for more shopping this afternoon.”

“If we eat out on the deck I’ll get my nutrition and my Vitamin D. You take such good care of me, baby.”

Erin laughed as they walked across the street and into the restaurant. Dave requested an outside table for two. A host took them to a lovely spot where their drink orders were taken. Once they were alone, they looked at the menu.

“What are you in the mood for?” Erin asked. “I think something light would be good since its so warm out. The grilled chicken salad sounds perfect but they don’t have light honey mustard dressing. They only have…David, you have the funniest look on your face. What's the matter?”

“Someone we know is having lunch a few tables away and they saw us.” He said in a low tone.

“Oh God, who?”

As long as it wasn’t her ex and the new Mrs. Strauss, Erin would probably be able to handle it. Whenever she got within 30 feet of Christa Covington-Strauss, Erin wanted to strangle things. She usually wanted to strangle Christa Covington-Strauss.

Erin and Dave weren't doing the secret thing anymore. They were as open as they were going to be. Officially, they were breaking the rules as superiors being sexually involved with subordinates was frowned upon. Unofficially, the Deputy Director had all but endorsed the pair. They weren't young, fickle agents hopping from bed to bed on whims. They were building a solid relationship outside the prying eyes of the powers that be. Erin herself was the powers that be.

“Penelope, JJ, and Emily.” Dave replied as their drinks, two glasses of raspberry iced tea, arrived. “We should be polite and say hello.”

“They don’t expect me to be polite.”

Dave looked at her, could see the playful look in her eyes. He reached over to rub her hand. Then they ordered lunch. Erin knew there was no avoiding it so when he stood she did too. Dave slipped his arm around her as they walked; it made Erin feel better. She put on a picture perfect smile and the three women did the same.

Since the Christmas party, a cease fire had been declared. A tentative peace accord was brokered between all parties involved. Things were good and Erin wanted them to stay that way for Dave’s sake. She knew how much he cared about his team and vice-versa. She would never get in the way of that just like she wouldn’t shrink into the background because they may not like the relationship.

“Hello ladies.” Dave said.

“Hey there Dave. Hello Erin.”

“Hello.” Erin held up her hand to wave. “Who's this adorable little guy?”

“This is Henry.” JJ said. “Henry, aren’t you gonna say hi to Uncle Dave and Erin?”

“Hi!” the two year old exclaimed.

“What's up bud?” Dave grinned.

“High five!” Henry held up his hand. Morgan taught him that and now he greeted everyone that way. Dave didn’t disappoint him.

“So what are you two up to this afternoon?” Penelope asked.

She was the only one who hadn't formed some kind of opinion about Rossi and the Section Chief. Love was love, she thought. Erin Strauss needed someone to bring her down from her Ivory Tower. Maybe she’d been trapped up there. No one had room to judge them, this was something real. Penelope was the only one who knew it had been going on since Rossi returned to the BAU, maybe even before. This was not some passing fancy.

They had a right to their privacy. JJ hid her relationship with Will, badly, for over a year. Hotch and Prentiss did it for even longer. When Emily got pregnant and they ‘confessed’ it took all the team had not to burst into laughter. No one was truly shocked when Dave and Erin turned up together at the Christmas party. It would just take some getting used to. She hoped everyone hurried up and got used to it.

“We’re just doing some shopping.” Erin replied. “We’re enjoying a little together time.”

“I get that.” the tech analyst smiled. “Do you have any plans for the holiday weekend?”

“My brother’s having a barbecue at his place in Towson.” Dave said. “Hotch mentioned he was pulling out the grill as well.”

“Mmm hmm,” Emily nodded, careful with her words around the boss. “It’s a family thing as always. It’s starting around one.”

“How are you feeling, Emily?” Erin asked.

“Fine thanks.” She cleared her throat as her hands caressed her stomach. She was five months pregnant with her first baby. It was she and Hotch’s first baby. She expected that Erin Strauss knew that but no one was confirming or denying anything. The couple had actually just gotten married but that was also something Emily wasn’t discussing.

“OK, well we just wanted to say hello.” Dave said.

“Hello.” They spoke in unison and then laughed some. Henry laughed too.

“Enjoy your lunch.” Erin said as they walked away. She squeezed Dave’s side.

“You were awesome, baby.” He kissed her temple.

“Thank you. I hate awkward situations but I want being around your team, your friends, in personal settings to be less so.” she sat in the chair he held for her. “I don’t know if there will ever be a time when that happens.”

“I think we've all made inroads being in each other’s presence. That’s a victory.”

“I say we celebrate.”

“What did you have in mind?” Dave leaned closer to her over the small table.

“Well I took a little glance at their dessert menu; it looked interesting. Nothing says celebration like a confection.”

“I have a sweet tooth, Erin, but they don’t serve my favorite treat here.”

“You're a bad, bad boy Agent Rossi.”

He just grinned and kissed her hand. It was their special time; Dave planned to make the most of it. It was a beautiful day, he was with a beautiful woman…everything was all good. His being bad just added more excited to the mix. The more, the merrier.

***


End file.
